Shanghai will name 80 companies providing cleaning and other domestic services as "model stations" by year's end to help well-run companies thrive and serve as examples, the Shanghai Women's Federation said yesterday.
The effort would help raise standards in the growing industry of providing ayis, or domestic helpers, which is rife with lax management, federation officials said.
Local domestic companies open for over two years that handle more than 100 domestic helpers annually can apply to be model domestic stations. Each firm's branch, up to five, can be models. Applications are due by the end of March and model stations will be designated in April.
"Instead of building new stations, we encourage the existing domestic service companies to apply to be model stations and improve those businesses designated as models," said Zhang Chen, vice president of the federation.
The model service is expected to buy every domestic helper at least one insurance policy. The model stations will charge service fees using the quarterly domestic service price list issued by Shanghai Human Resources and Social Security Bureau.
In response to worries that the price for ayi service will go up, Zhang said rising prices are determined by the market as the labor costs are rising nationally.
The model station needs to organize training for every domestic helper and conduct return visits to every client.
There are about 500,000 domestic helpers in Shanghai, of whom 95 percent are migrant women, according to a survey.
The government will give an unknown amount in subsidies to the 80 model domestic stations to help them improve their services.
Central China tornado kills 3
Injuries rises to 52